Creative Commons licensePhoto by flickr user Eric The Fish (2010)

The Austrian capital has always been dignified, but there's a thick layer of whipped cream around almost every corner. Its baroque architecture, art galleries and museums, rich musical heritage and café's and cakes have been magnets for tourists since the days of the Grand Tour. Its popularity has continued to grow and now, with one budget airline flying directly to the city, and another to nearby Bratislava, Vienna has never been cheaper or easier to get to. The Christkindlmärkte always draw crowds when, from the end of November to Christmas, little huts spring up on streets throughout the city, selling presents, food and warming Glühwein.

Part of Vienna's appeal is its compact centre ('innere stadt'), which forms the 1st District. All the sights, hotels, restaurants and cafés are within an easy walk. The medieval city is contained by a broad horseshoe-shaped road of 19th-century palaces, the Ringstrasse, where all the grand old hotels are found. Although a 1st District address is plum, the neighbouring districts, such as 4th, 7th and 8th, are still convenient and the hotels often better value. Viennese hotels are, almost without exception, well-run and pristine (even the most modest pension has good quality linen), but many are decorated in an oppressive Biedermeier style. We have tried to ferret out the elegant ones, as well as recommending a number of fresh, contemporary boutique hotels. The order by which the hotels are listed bears no reflection on our preference.

Written by Fiona Duncan, Leonie Glass